“See You In The Future” and at the Show: Robert DeLong Coming to High Dive

We are almost at the end of 2018, and it would be a shame to not end your year of concerts with a bang, right?

Reigning champ of the electronic and alternative rock crossroads, Robert DeLong will be making a stop at High Dive on November 28 with support from King Complex and Retrolux. DeLong’s shows are all about the ability to build an experience through an environment. From tribal face paint in the crowd to Wii remote controlled musical elements, the night will be nothing shy of a rave for the indie kids.

If you aren’t already familiar with the musical stylings of Robert DeLong, here’s the abridged rundown. He is a self-proclaimed computer nerd/drummer with a deep love for the world of Sci-Fi. If you are looking to join the not-yet-established Robert DeLong book club, one of his favorite novels is “Diaspora” by Greg Egan.

Until recently, his shows have been a one-man act of him looping different elements to build out modern dance anthems for the crowd. So far, his career has produced two full-length albums, and most recently the “See You In The Future” EP. My top recommendations are “Global Concepts,” “Don’t Wait Up” and “Revolutionary.”

DeLong told me he’s “back, baby” and that it feels so good to be touring again. He is making his way through the U.S. with a mix of headlining shows and supporting AJR. Gainesville will be a headlining show for him. Having been to a few of his shows over the years, I wanted to know what new things we could be looking forward to other than the songs.

Two words: laser harp.

DeLong has also added a few band members to his show to give him the freedom to get out into the crowd more to interact.

“I believe in the idea of innovation and the ability to take things that are unusual like game controllers and appropriating them,” he said about his creative platform. “You know anything is possible and hopefully that inspires people to be creative in their own minds. And those are my favorite conversations to have after shows when people are like ‘man, I saw your show and it makes me wanna go home and make art or make music’ and that’s my goal.”

He described his tour schedule as wake up, load in, soundcheck, promo, show, drinks, back on the bus, rinse and repeat. His one complaint was not having enough time to sit down with his beloved Sci-Fi novels.

You know anything is possible and hopefully that inspires people to be creative in their own minds.

He said he’s never completely forgotten what state he’s in, but he did recently hit the crowd with a, “How ya doing uhhhhh…Chicago!” It’s okay. I’m not even on tour and I don’t know where I am half the time.

The pivotal moment in his career was while he had a residency at a dingy club in LA. He described it as one of those right place, right time, right people situations that led him to meeting his current management and getting signed to Glassnote Records. If he could give one piece of advice to musicians trying to make it in the industry, it’s to be nice. You never know what relationships will be able to help you out later.

If I’ve been able to see DeLong play 3 to 4 times over the last few years, that must mean he doesn’t feed into this whole idea of just skipping over Florida all together while touring. We had a good laugh about how the state of Florida seems to produce the most absurd news headlines. My favorite discovery this year has been “Florida Man Hits Boyfriend with Plate for Listening to too Much Alanis Morrisette.” I challenged DeLong to create his ideal Florida headline and he came up with “Florida Man Drives Pickup with Gator into Hotel Lobby.”

For Gainesville? That sounds pretty doable.

If you are keeping your Robert DeLong calendar updated, the show in Gainesville is on November 28, there will hopefully be a new EP in early 2019, and there will be a new string of headlining shows in the Northeast in February.

Final words from DeLong?

“The show in Gainesville is going to be tight, listen to the EP, and see you in the future.”

Tickets for the show at High Dive are available here and you can keep up with Robert DeLong on his website. You can stream his new EP below.

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